The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism

This Wide-ranging, Interdisciplinary Analysis Blends History, Economics, And Politics To Challenge Most Of The Prevailing Accounts Of The Rise Of U.s. Militarism. While Acknowledging The Contributory Role Of Some Of The Most Widely-cited Culprits (big Oil, Neoconservative Ideology, The Zionist Lobby, And President Bush?s World Outlook), This Study Explores The Bigger, But Largely Submerged, Picture: The Political Economy Of War And Militarism. The Study Is Unique Not Only For Its Thorough Examination Of The Economics Of Military Spending, But Also For Its Careful Analysis Of A Series Of Closely Related Topics (petroleum, Geopolitics, Imperialism, Terrorism, Religious Fundamentalism, The War In Iraq, And The Palestinian-israeli Conflict) That May Appear As Digressions But, In Fact, Help Shed More Light On The Main Investigation. The Military-industrial Giant: An Empire In Itself -- Imperial Militarisms: Past And Present -- The Rise Of U.s. Militarism -- Inventing Threats To Our National Interests -- Militant Islam, Terrorism, And Clash Of Civilizations -- Behind The Invasion Of Iraq -- Waste, Inefficiency, And The Spoils Of Military Spending -- The Political Economy Of U.s. Military Spending -- Limits Of U.s. Militarism. Ismael Hossein-zadeh. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [283]-289) And Index. "This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary analysis blends history, economics, and politics to challenge most of the prevailing accounts of the rise of U.S. militarism. While acknowledging the contributory role of some of the most widely-cited culprits (big oil, neoconservative ideology, the Zionist lobby, and President Bush's world outlook), this study explores the bigger, but largely submerged, picture: the political economy of war and militarism. The study is unique not only for its thorough examination of the economics of military spending, but also for its careful analysis of a series of closely related topics (petroleum, geopolitics, imperialism, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, the war in Iraq, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) that may appear as digressions but, in fact, help shed more light on the main investigation."--Publisher's website Front Matter....Pages i-v Introduction....Pages 1-10 The Military-Industrial Giant: An Empire in Itself....Pages 11-26 Imperial Militarisms: Past and Present....Pages 27-37 The Rise of U.S. Militarism....Pages 39-74 Inventing “Threats to Our National Interests”....Pages 75-97 Militant Islam, Terrorism, and “Clash of Civilizations”....Pages 99-124 Behind the Invasion of Iraq....Pages 125-180 Waste, Inefficiency, and the Spoils of Military Spending....Pages 181-202 The Political Economy of U.S. Military Spending....Pages 203-245 Limits of U.S. Militarism....Pages 247-257 Back Matter....Pages 259-296